UBC Carpenters Local 747 Syracuse, NY Worry About Retirement Funds

www.news10now.com Carpenters Worry About Retirement Funds Updated: 01/12/2009 09:46 PM By: Giselle Phelps ONONDAGA COUNTY, NY — Stanley Miller and Joe Lotito are retired carpenters. Both spent more than 30 years on the job. Just a few days before Christmas, they each got a letter in the mail, saying withdrawals from their union’s annuity fund were temporarily frozen. Money both men were using that to get by each month. “It’s going to create hardship. We’ve already talked about it, my wife and I. I might have to go back to work. Find a job. Right now ain’t a good time to be looking for a job,” said Lotito. “I had like almost $70000 left in there. I had it worked out so that it would probably last another 10 years,” said Miller. Miller and Lotito joined other members of Local 747 for a meeting at their union hall Monday, hoping to get answers from Patrick Morin. He’s the Business Manager for the Empire State Regional Council of Carpenters, the group that invested with Bernard Madoff. The retired carpenters in the union are still receiving their pensions. They just got their latest payments on January 1st, but they’re still worried. “We certainly hope and pray that all of a sudden we don’t get letters saying there will be no more pension checks,” said Miller. “I’m almost anticipating getting a letter before the end of the month saying, guess what, you’re going to get one third of what you were getting,” Lotito. Our cameras were not allowed inside the union meeting. But …

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